Alamance County family struggles to keep home

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Graham, N.C. — With so many people out of work, the holidays aren't just about finding that perfect present this year. There are homeowners, like Robert and Yodith Tierney, who are struggling to simply make their mortgage payments.

The Tierneys bought their Alamance County home in Graham last summer. It was a dream come true but then, earlier this year, Robert Tierney lost his job in the insurance industry.

“I felt lost,” he said. “I would have never bought a house in June 2008 if I thought I wasn't going to have a job by February 2009."

Still, the couple had to make their monthly mortgage payment, which is more than $1,200.

“We feel downtrodden, and we also feel like we've done nothing wrong,” Robert Tierney said.

Robert Tierney said in the meantime, he has applied for hundreds of jobs with no luck.

Fortunately, the couple has a mortgage borrower’s protection plan through Bank of America. The bank is supposed to pay about $1,000 of the monthly mortgage, while he is out of work, for a year. But the Tierneys have had problems with the plan.

“It's chaos. It’s like they're not communicating with each other,” Yodith Tierney said.

The couple said the borrower’s protection department and the mortgage company were rarely on the same page. Despite paying their bills on time, the Tierneys said they still received overdue notices and were told their loan was in default.

According to Bank of America, a technology system upgrade caused the problems.

Robert Tierney’s borrower’s protection agreement on his house expires in February. The couple isn’t sure what they will do after that.

“We will keep the home. That’s our goal,” Yodith Tierney said.

A Bank of America spokesman said Tierney’s payments are up to date and the problem has since been fixed.

anonemooseDec 25, 2009

Well, ain't that just special? Now where is the story about my sister who became disabled and is losing hers in mid Jan? What about the elderly lady who lost hers last month after her husband died and didn't have enough insurance? Thousands of them. This isn't news, it's the Obama economy fueled by Frank and Dodd refusing to allow oversight of Fannie and Freddie.

ladyblueDec 25, 2009

A Bank of America spokesman said Tierney’s payments are up to date and the problem has since been fixed--well I hope they fixed their credit rating as well from this mess.

superman-- People cant go through life thinking they can't buy a home because we may get left off. if people didn't take the chance to purchase a home then others such as construction would surely loose their homes and jobs. They didn't make the mistake the governemtn did with their felonious broadcasts that the economy is picking up when we know it's not. Blame it on liberal media patting the president's back for saying the same thing. They didn't buy a mansion from the mortgage listed, so I hope they can qualify for the bailout money Obama has put out there. If people stop buying then the country would stand still and you may even loose your livelihood and home unless it was inherited or you had it long enough to re finance.

supermanDec 25, 2009

They didnt do anything wrong. They just made a mistake and didnt think thru things. With the enonomy bad and on edge it is a serious mistake to purchase anything you cant pay for. They purchased the mortgage insurance so somewhere in the back of their minds they must have known that things might so sour for them. Sorry he lost his job as have thousands of other people. But they can chalk up buying the house as a mistake.